ants-tem3

\Noise vs Noise Barriers

Broad Question:

Which materiel best blocks out most unwanted noise?

Specific Question

Which materiel( Egg carton, Styrofoam, or cardboard) best blocks out most unwanted noise.

Variables

Independent Variable: Materiel

Dependent Variable:

The dependent variable will be amount of noise (decibels).

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

The variable(s) that need to be controlled is unwanted noise, Noise loudness, and noise frequents.

Hypothesis:

I hypothesis that the cardboard will block out most of the unwanted noise, followed by Styrofoam then Egg carton.

Graph of Hypothesis

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General Plan

Experimental Design

I will conduct my experiment mostly at my dads house but in some cases i will have to do it at my moms house.My dad and my mom will help me conduct my experiment by isolating my room so no noise other than my experiments required noise is detectable by the decibel reader. I will need to complete 5 different trials for the different materials. I will record my data on a printed out spreadsheet. Well to complete me jotting down my experiments I will just take the decibel reader and play the sound and record the data.

Materials list

• Materials to make isolated area
• Decibel reader
• Noise conductor
• Pencil/pen
• Computer
• Spreadsheet/Data table

Detailed procedure

1. First you would have to take you materials and cut them into a 9x9 square box’s and there is a opening on the bottom of the box for the sound conductor.
2. Place sound conductor in the center of the box.
3. Then turn the sound conductor [on] off.
4. Place decibel reader on top of the material.
5. When you think the decibel reader is in a constant reading you would record the data on a spreadsheet.
6. Then take the decibel reader and noise conductor and put it to the side then take the 9x9 box and replace it with a different one and repeat steps 2-5.
7. Repeat steps 2-6 until all the materials are used.

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Background Research

1. Sounds are generally audible to the human ear if their frequency (number of vibrations per second) beats between 20 and 20,000 vibrations per second, but the range varies considerably with the individual person. Sound waves with frequencies less than those of audible waves are called subsonic; those with frequencies above the audible range are called ultrasonic A sound wave is usually represented graphically by a wavy, horizontal line, the upper part of the wave (the crest) shows a condensation and the lower part (the trough) indicates a rarefaction.
2. The human ear is shaped like a arch so that it can catch sound waves. The ear is theorgan that detects sound . It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system. This auditory part of the cerebral cortex is in the temporal lobe. The outer ear is the most external portion of the ear. The outer ear includes the pinna (also called auricle), the ear canal, and the very most superficial layer of the ear drum also called the tympanic membrane.
3. Noise barriers are solid obstructions built between the highway and the homes along a highway. They do not completely block all noise they only reduce overall noise levels. Effective noise barriers typically reduce noise levels by 5 to 10 decibels (dB), cutting the loudness of traffic noise by as much as one half. For example, a barrier which achieves a 10-dB reduction can reduce the sound level of a typical tractor trailer pass-by to that of an automobile.Barriers can be formed from earth mounds or "berms" along the road, from high, vertical walls, or from a combination of earth berms and walls.
4. The decibel ( dB ) is used to measure sound level, but it is also widely used in electronics, signals and communication. The dB is a logarithmic unit used to describe a ratio. The ratio may be power, sound pressure, voltage or intensity or several other things. The ear is capable of hearing a very large range of sounds: the ratio of the sound pressure that causes permanent damage from short exposure to the limit that (undamaged) ears can hear is more than a million.

References

Parker, Lewis. Hearing and Sound. Lori A. Meyer. Logan, Iowa, Iowa: Perfection Learning, 2006. Print.

"Sound waves." Characteristics of sound waves. Info please, 2000. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0861183.html>.

"What are sound barriers." Noise barrier design. FHWA, 7 June 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/noise/noise_barriers/design_construction/keepdown.cfm>.


Wolfe, Joe. "Defenitions and examples." dB: What is adecibel. science UNSW, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm>

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Results

Data table

Graphs

Photos

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Data Analysis

Conclusion

The original purpose of this experiment was to see which material would best block out the most unwanted noise possible.The results of this experiment was that the Egg carton block out a whopping 56-67 dB, on the other hand styrofoam blocked out 30-39 dB, and cardboard blocked out 49-55 dB .

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Discussion

My hypothesis would be the egg carton blocking out most of the unwanted noise. My results do support my hypothesis. There is a relationship the dependent and independent variables. Some patterns and trend that my data shows are that when i would take a reading trying to block out the noise there were some pretty close readings. I think the test went very smoothly because i had a perfect space for my readings, no one was in the house, and i had no heaters so it was perfectly silent. if i could improve my experience i would of not used my turtle beaches and got bigger boxes to fit around my “46 inch “ flat screen tv. An interesting future study would involve seeing if i used more material and a higher dB i could see if that would be the same data cause its a different tone as your dB gets higher.